Chapter 1005

After Guihai Yidao returned, Shangguan Haitang was supported by him.

The moment Zhu Wushi gave the order, Shangguan Haitang's face changed drastically at once.

Turning to Guihai Yidao, she said,

"Quick, Yidao, come with me to remonstrate with Father..."

Guihai Yidao naturally knew that Extinguisher Abbess and Gu Hongzi were Zhou Zhiruo's sect elders.

And Zhou Zhiruo, for him, had been one who saved his life at the cost of her own.

Although today, for the sake of the Heavenly Fragrant Cardamom, Guihai Yidao had also repaid the debt with his own body.

But since Shangguan Haitang had spoken thus, he immediately supported Shangguan Haitang forward and remonstrated Zhu Wushi,

"Father, those two truly are my and Haitang's life-saving benefactors.

Yidao boldly implores Father not to make things difficult for these two, alright?"

"Yes! Father, Haitang begs you..."

Shangguan Haitang also tugged at Zhu Wushi's sleeve, pleading in a tearful voice.

Hearing this, Zhu Wushi frowned deeply.

While deliberating whether to retract his order, he did not expect Cao Zhengchun, seeing Zhu Wushi's command, to have the people of the Protecting Dragon Shanzhuang all deployed.

How could this Cao Zhengchun allow the Protecting Dragon Shanzhuang to pluck the fruits? He himself charged out.

793 Teaching me my job?

Cao Zhengchun was currently, under heaven, the expert second only to Zhu Wushi.

And Extinguisher Abbess and Gu Hongzi had successively engaged in bitter battles with the three Gao Seng of the Damo Hall and the three great experts of the Eastern Depot in turns.

Although Extinguisher Abbess and the other cultivated the Emei Nine Yang Art.

Their qi-recovery speed was truly extremely fast among ordinary internal cultivation methods.

But whether the three of the Damo Hall or the three great experts of the Eastern Depot, every combination was an extremely formidable opponent.

With Extinguisher Abbess and Gu Hongzi not at an advantage, they had instead depleted much of their true essence.

At this moment, the group of experts from the Protecting Dragon Shanzhuang, having received Zhu Wushi's order, charged over together.

After a bout of fierce fighting, Extinguisher Abbess and Gu Hongzi were already in a frantic scramble.

Then Cao Zhengchun, disregarding his status, also attacked with the momentum of thunder.

In no more than two or three moves, Extinguisher Abbess had already had a vital acupoint on her shoulder struck by Cao Zhengchun.

Her hand slowed, and a sword had already been seized by Cao Zhengchun.

Then Cao Zhengchun, taking advantage of the momentum, caught the sword and delivered an upward thrust.

In the nick of time, the tip of this blue-steel precious sword was already pressed against the vital point of Extinguisher Abbess's throat.

"Junior Sister..."

Although Gu Hongzi could hardly look after himself, seeing Extinguisher Abbess captured, he was still panic-stricken.

How could he still spare thought for the others surrounding him? He prepared to employ the Emei Sect's lightness skill to rescue Extinguisher Abbess.

Yet those besieging the two of them were almost all top-tier experts of the Great Ming from foreign lands.

Although Gu Hongzi strove to fight his way through, besides leaving several wounds on his body that caused blood to flow freely, he could not advance a single step.

"Release those two!"

At this moment, Zhou Zhiruo, who had been hiding all along in the Damo Hall fire scene, finally showed herself.

She raised the Heaven Reliant Sword and once again employed the Nine Yin, Nine Yang along with the Extinguishing Sword and the Absolute Sword.

In fact, her Wu Gong, having inherited from the Emei Sect and also learned the Nine Yin True Scripture, was truly a hodgepodge.

Among them, she was well-versed in quite a few upper-tier Wu Gong of sword arts, palm arts, fist arts, and even claw arts.

In the past, she had always adapted to circumstances.

Whatever Wu Gong suited the situation at hand, she would employ it.

But ever since obtaining the Heaven Reliant Sword, she had first relied on the Heaven Reliant Sword to defeat Cao Zhengchun, and later defeated Bi Xuan in the Damo Hall.

Therefore, at this critical juncture, her instinct was to employ sword arts.

These Extinguishing Sword and Absolute Sword, combined with the true essence of Nine Yin and Nine Yang, appeared utterly unremarkable, yet their might was boundless.

As she once again unleashed them now, several experts of the Protecting Dragon Shanzhuang along the way still tried to parry her moves.

But before the sword strikes even reached them, they suddenly sensed something amiss.

By the time they tried to dodge, it was already too late to evade.

At this moment, Zhou Zhiruo was also doing this to save Extinguisher Abbess and Gu Hongzi, truly going all out.

So much so that these several experts of the Protecting Dragon Shanzhuang were slain on the spot by the Extinguishing Sword and Absolute Sword in an instant.

Moreover, the manner of death of the several people was all different.

Some were entirely flushed red, clearly having been struck by the Nine Yang Divine Art.

Some, however, died with smiles on their faces, their sinews and bones contorted—this was having been struck by the Nine Yin true essence.

The might of a single sword drew the experts present to cast sidelong glances one after another.

Cao Zhengchun, seeing this, felt his scalp go numb.

He had truly and clearly been defeated by Zhou Zhiruo once before, and he truly had lingering fears about her sword arts and precious sword.

Now seeing several renowned experts of the Protecting Dragon Shanzhuang so unable to withstand a single blow, and their manner of death so terrifying.

Even though Cao Zhengchun's Wu Gong was profound and he was well-experienced, at this moment his heart was also creeping with dread.

Seeing Zhou Zhiruo's sword momentum unabated, continuing to charge toward him.

The experts of the Protecting Dragon Shanzhuang along the way, and even the three great experts of the Eastern Depot, one after another did not dare to block her.

Cao Zhengchun cursed inwardly, yet threatened aloud,

"Zhou Zhiruo, if you dare take one more step forward, I'll kill this old nun!"

"Zhou Zhiruo? She's Zhou Zhiruo?"

Zhu Wushi had heard Guihai Yidao and Shangguan Haitang's tearful account, and his heart had been wavering, weighing the matter.

But upon seeing Zhou Zhiruo's identity exposed, killing several of his own experts from the Shanzhuang in a single, vicious move,

this enraged Zhu Wushi beyond measure. He turned to question Guihai Yidao and Shangguan Haitang,

"So this is the Zhou Zhiruo you fought so hard to protect?

She's your benefactor — then aren't Di Qiao, Di Ming, and Di Jin your brothers-in-arms?"

Di Qiao, Di Ming, and Di Jin were precisely experts among the seventy-two Earth Fiends of the Shanzhuang.

They were also the three experts of the Shanzhuang who had been slain by Zhou Zhiruo in a single sword stroke.

Shangguan Haitang had seen Zhou Zhiruo appear and cut down the three Di brothers with one sword, and her mind was still reeling.

Hearing Zhu Wushi's questioning at this moment, she was all the more at a loss.

It was true!

Zhou Zhiruo had indeed, in that wild mountain valley, thrown herself into danger to save her and Guihai Yidao.

But now she had also killed the three Di brothers in broad daylight.

To argue forcefully in her defense would be a grave injustice to the three of them.

For a moment, Shangguan Haitang's spirit was in turmoil, and she did not know how to respond.

Instead, it was Guihai Yidao whose expression remained resolute as he said,

"Foster father, though the deaths of the three Di brothers were innocent, there were mitigating circumstances.

After all, had the three of them not gone to block the way, not gone to surround and attack Zhou Zhiruo's sect elders, none of this would have happened."

Hearing Guihai Yidao say this, Zhu Wushi's face changed drastically. He said in a heavy voice,

"What? Yidao, are you blaming your foster father? Or are you trying to teach me how to act?"

"Yidao dare not…"

Guihai Yidao was neither humble nor overbearing; though his words said he dared not, in truth he truly felt Zhu Wushi ought not to act this way.

What manner of man was Zhu Wushi? He naturally saw Guihai Yidao's defiance, and at once gave a cold snort,

"Fine then! Yidao, you've truly grown up, haven't you!

So be it! Since this Zhou Zhiruo dares to kill men of my Shanzhuang today, she must be made to stay here.

Tianya, take her!"

"Foster father…"

Duan Tianya, upon hearing this, could not help but feel exceedingly torn.